Aligner



July 8, 194i. GfMAFERA V ALIGNER Filed June 13, 1940 4 v .l l

Gttornegs.

Patented `Iuly 8, 1941 amanti VUNITD STATES PATENT y ,2,238,7151 .t ALIGNEB Guy Mafera, Revere, Mass. .f

Application June 13, 1940, Serial No. 340,303

(C1. 254--104)V I 3 Claims.

My present invention relates to a novel aligner foradjustably supporting a heavy object correctly regardless of the slope of the supporting surface or the desired relation of the object thereto.

The installation of heavy machinery or other equipment generally requires its careful alinement. As the condition of the supporting surface or the desired relation of the object thereto are variable factors, it is my concept that the correct support of the heavy objects requires an aligner in which the top and bottom surfaces may be brought into non-parallel relation.

In accordance with my invention, I accomplish this result by forming one of the pair of Wedge members, by which the overall thickness of the aligners is varied, and a second member, with complemental surfaces, one concave and the other convex for mutual contact, so that a constant bearing area is maintained during limited universal relative adjustments of the twomembers. By this construction, the supporting surfaces of the aligners may be brought into a non-parallel relation as determined by the slope of the oor and the desired relation of the object thereto.

In the drawing, I have shown an embodiment of my invention from which its general novel features and advantages will be readily apparent. In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan View of an aligner in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a partly sectioned side view ofthe aligner shown in Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 shows the aligner in end view.

Aligners in accordance with my present invention consist of a first wedge member I and a second wedge member 2. The wedge members I and 2 have inclined surfaces 3 so that when the wedge members are reversed and assembled with the surfaces 3 in mutual contact the margins of the bottom surface 4 of the member I and the top surface 5 of the member 2 are in parallel and separated by a distance determined by the position of the member 2 relative to the member I (see Fig. 2.)

The iirst Wedge memberl has a centrally disposed elongated slot 6 in registry with the openended slot 'I in the second wedge member 2. The slots 6 and 'I receive the attaching bolt (not shown) and permit the wedge members I and 2 to be moved relative thereto. Laterally of the slots 6 and 1, the member 2 is formed with a tongue or rib 8 to enter, on assembly, the groove 9 in the first wedge member I when the wedge members are assembled.

On the opposite side of the ,Slots 6. and 1, the

members and 2 are formed" with channels I forming; on assembly 'of vthe aligner, anlaperture havingits top Aand bottom `edges in paralleli This aperture is for the adjusting bolt I I, the head I2 of which bears against the end of the member I. {Ihe bolt I I is provided at its opposite end with a Washer I3 and nuts i4 to contact the end of the member 2 so that the members I and 2 may be adjusted relative to each other to establish a desired aligner thickness and securely locked in an adjusted position. The washer I3 may be square and of a size to ride on the surface 3 on opposite sides of the channel Il] in the wedge member I to hold the bolt I2 in such position that the nuts I4 may be readily engaged and rotated.

My aligner, as thus far described, is generally similar .to aligners of the type shown in my United States Letters Patent No. 2,123,484, of July 12, 1938. In accordance with my present invention, the rst wedge member I is formed with a concave recess I5 in its surface II to receive complemental convex bearing portions I 6 of the leveling plate I1.

The leveling plate I 'I is formed with a centrally disposed aperture I8 for the attaching bolt by which the object is anchored to the floor or other supporting surface. yThe aperture i8 tapers towards the top and its smallest diameter is greater than the width of the slots 6 and l.

lWhile I have shown the leveling plate Il as the bottom or base of my aligner, the aligner may obviously be reversed so that the leveling plate establishes its top surface. With the assembly shown in the drawing, the aperture I8 of the leveling plate I'I may be positioned where desired.

dened by the slots s and 1 of the assembled` Wedge members during limited universal relative adjustment of the wedge members and the leveling plate sol that the attaching bolt may be accommodated.

With aligners incorporating this feature, the desired relation of the supporting plane of the aligner to the plane of the supporting surface may be readily established without interference with the necessary vertical adjustments and without any loss in bearing area between the top plate I1 and the second Wedge member 2.

What I therefore claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An aligner for adjustably supporting a heavy object in desired position relative to a supporting surface, said aligner comprising superimposed rst and second wedge members having top and bottom surfaces and having their mutually contacting surfaces inclined to maintain said top and bottom surfaces in parallel, adjusting means Ain engagement with each of said members to effect relative movement therebetween to vary the overall thickness of the aligner as desired, and va leveling member in contact with one of said wedge 1 members and having a face for contact with said supporting surface or the object to besu-pported, one of the contacting surfacesof said .last named members being spherically concave and the other of said surfaces being convex to establish-'complemental Yportions providing an Iadequate bearingiduring .limited universal relative adjustment of said levelingmember andusad wedge member to bring the object supporting surface of said aligner into a desired plane said leveling member having a central aperture axially of its spherical complemental portion and adapted to receive a vertical object contacting bolt for anchoring the object in its adjusted position relative to said plane.

2. An aligner as in claim 1, in which the central aperture of the leveling member has tapered lateral Walls inclined to the axis of the spherical ycemplementa'l surface of the leveling member.

3. The aligner of claim 1, said Wedge members having bolt-receiving apertures to register with leach other and With the bolt receiving aperture fin said leveling member, the apertures of said Wedge members being of greater length but of less Width than the diameter of the aperture of said leveling member so that the Wedge members may have limited longitudinal movement relative to each other and limited universal movement as a unit `on said leveling member relative to said bolt.

GUY MA-FERA. 

